News

[The Reefuge]

Hello everyone,

I would like to hear everyones opinion on how we can help with conservation. We are still setting up the open coral program, which will allow members of The Reefuge to trade frags, but let us think of a bigger picture for a moment.

Would it be possible to have a volunteer set up a dedicated frag tank funded by members who would like to see the tank bloom? By doing this, we will be able to use the tank for frags in the open coral program. This is just an idea.

Would it be possible to find businesses in Australia who sell cultured corals to the public, and thus use them as a supplier of corals to the community?

Aside from the work being put into the technical side of The Reefuge, we would like to hear feedback from members about what we can do (as a community) to help with conservation. We would like to hear "out of the box" thinking.

If anyone has any ideas, please let us know. By doing this we can make The Reefuge something more than a community of reefers, we may be able to make a small difference in conservation.

Thanks.

 

[WoodyMackay]

I have thought about this, and is a good idea in theory. I thibk you would need say someone from each state to be dedicated and do it, id be happy to do one for nsw , well maybe sydney. it is mucu better for the environment though, and tank bred corals are much more hardy. If peiple wana frag some stuff

 

[WoodyMackay]

Id be happy to plumb my. 12 in cube into my system and kick it off? Havr a light to light it alredy too

 

[MichelleShocked]

Conservation/Preservation has been in my thoughts of late, also (in part because of an idiot on youtube, the details of which are posted in the /athiesm thread).
I have also thought that a State Tank was a good idea for us as Reefuge members and as citizens concerned for our local environments.
The only danger with relying on aqua-cultured specimens is that only the most sought after specimens (for obvious reasons) will be collected, fragged and shared or sold. If our reef systems in the wild go to hell, we will have examples of the nice, popular corals but the unknown, less popular species will disappear forever.
To me, conservation is for all species, not just the pretty ones.
Having said that, I don't know what can be done on a large scale for our marine environments to prevent said trip to the nether regions, other than organized clean up the beach get-togethers and concerted efforts to make people aware of what they tip down the sink and wash down the gutters.
Perhaps approach major industries that impact the marine environment and petition them to include environmental concerns to be a part of their industry ethic.
Back to aqua cultured corals though - if our marine reefs go haywire, each of our tanks will be a mini-oasis in which creatures that have no home to return to must reside and prosper. In that light, I view my up coming zoa collection much as the Japanese viewed their Bonsai trees - heirlooms that are handed from parent to child through generations. There are Bonsai plants that are hundreds of years old and considered national treasures.
I can see myself giving my children my corals along with my jewelry and coin collection when I die - they already understand that the corals are more valuable by far than the jewelry and coins anyway;)

 

[WoodyMackay]

soooooois anyone else keen on the idea of having frag tanks scattered around AUS? hah

 

[The Reefuge]

Hi everyone,

This would be a really great idea to work on. Once the site is running at a rate we are happy with, we will be able to invest more time into projects such as the one you suggested.

Thanks.

 

[WoodyMackay]

Well Ill be setting up one myself here for the illawarra/sydney guys so once the refuge is ready maybe others can jump on board! ill keep everyone posted

 

[VaultBoy]

i would be happy to hold frags for sa members but at the moment there are only 2 active members here!

 

[WoodyMackay]

Sounds good vault boy! gotta start somewhere! I just think If you have the capacity to, why not frag instead of getting someone to take full colonies off the reef. If we could trust collectors to only tank half colonies, it wouldn't be so bad. Smart collectors cut half and leave the over half so they can come back next season and harvest again.

 

[WoodyMackay]

Little update, a couple mass members have jumped on board and ill be starting the first regional/state frag tank. small, but its a start. More pwiple that join mean more types of coral to add to your tank!

 

['vspec']

well done dude, that's good news.
Self manage and we will keep an eye out for your updates, I'm sure some spotlight coverage wouldn't go astray;)